Oxygen is perhaps the most common form of medical gas used by hospitals, clinics, doctor offices, nursing homes, and in homecare. Other types of medical gas include compressed air, oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, nitrogen, helium, and cyclopropane. U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,593 is limited to sources of oxygen gas and oxygen tubing; whereas, the present invention provides a universal medical gas delivery system to be used with all types of medical gas. Furthermore, the present invention also includes numerous other uses and improvements.
Over the years, numerous injuries and deaths have been reported as the result of medical gas mix-ups, which occur when a patient's tubing is connected to the wrong medical gas source and the patient consequently received the wrong type of medical gas. For instance, a patient's oxygen supply tubing may be mistakenly connected to a nitrogen source outlet. Color-coded fittings on both the medical gas tubing and the medical gas source (flow meter) outlet can avoid such errors. Sources and vessels of medical gas may be color-coded as follows: air, yellow; oxygen, green; carbon dioxide, gray; nitrous oxide, blue; nitrogen, black; helium, brown; and cyclopropane, orange. One purpose of this invention is to include color-coded tubing and fittings, such as the rotating nut, corresponding to the type of medical gas prescribed.
However, some caregivers and patients may be color blind. It is another aim of this invention to provide tubing and/or fittings that are labeled for the type of medical gas prescribed. Additionally, the labeling may include raised lettering, indicia, and/or Braille for people with blindness or visual impairment. The tubing and/or connector may also be made from glow-in-the-dark or translucent materials to improve visualization in dark-lit rooms. The tubing may also be illuminated by a light source, such as LEDs, and light may also be transmitted by fiber optic threads incorporated into the tubing, to aid visualization of the tubing system in dark-lit rooms, which provides an advantage over U.S. Pat. No. 7,374,318 and 2010/0020529 that describes a hook apparatus for lighting oxygen tubing.
Medical gas tubing, such as oxygen tubing, that do not come in contact with bodily fluids, are generally disposed of in regular garbage. As a result, each year, millions of units of medical gas supply tubing ends up in both landfills and incineration plants. An additional aim of this invention is to produce medical gas supply tubing from non-toxic materials or polymers that do not release toxins into the air or ground water. A further intention of the current invention is to produce medical gas supply tubing that is more readily degradable in the environment, and may include biodegradable materials and/or additives and/or swelling agents. Said materials may also dissolve with certain solvents. Such design should reduce the environmental impact of disposable tubing supplies.
Oxygen tubing is generally packaged as non-sterile tubing. A further aim of this invention is to manufacture medical gas supply tubing that is composed of radiation resistant materials such that it can be sterilized by radiation, such as by gamma radiation, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,622,523. Heat resistant materials may also be employed so that tubing can be autoclaved for sterilization, especially if reused in conjunction with a respiratory machine, such as an anesthesia machine or mechanical ventilator. Furthermore, poor developing nations may need to reuse medical gas tubing supplies as availability of such supplies may be limited. Such sterilization can be important for reducing or preventing cross-contamination in immunocompromised patients. The medical gas tubing and/or connector may also be composed of, or coated with, anti-microbial materials to reduce subsequent contamination, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,608,581.
The present invention also reduces contamination and cross-contamination to patient users, since it bypasses the need for supply tubing adapters, many of which are reused between patients stays in the hospital, and become dirty and contaminated when transported in coat pockets and dropped on the floor. With infectious bacteria becoming ever more antibiotic resistance, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), any means of limiting patient contamination is desirable. The present invention fulfills this need.
It is a further aim of this invention to prevent patients and/or caregivers from tripping over long medical gas supply tubing. One way to reduce slack is with self-coiling oxygen tubing, comprised of a series of helical coils or loops able to stretch and extend when pulled, and able to retract again when no force is applied, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,456. If tubing is not self-coiling, then a tubing reel may be used to wind and unwind this tubing to reduce excess tubing length when needed, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,392,808; 6,591,858; 7,104,491; and 7,487,791 and 2006/0243282.
A swivel element and/or swivel adapter may also be employed to release tension from twisted tubing, as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,284,134; 5,573,280; and 5,797,627. A clip may also be employed to help hold the medical gas tubing onto a patient's clothing, bed, wheelchair, or chair, as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,609.
Medical gas tubing can provide medical gas to a variety of different medical gas utilizing devices. Most often medical gas tubing includes a nasal cannula or a face mask for delivery of gases directly to, or in the vicinity of, the nose and/or mouth. Sometimes the medical gas will dry the patient's airways, and so, a humidifier jar, such as described by U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,552 may be used to humidify the gas. When there is too much humidification, a condensation trap may also be placed in the supply tubing line to capture this excess moisture.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,505 describes a basic nasal cannula held on the head with over-the-ear tubing, while 2004/0035431 describes a nasal cannula with molded ear fittings for a better hold. Nasal cannulas may contain additional sampling tubes for monitoring patient breathing via an electronic detector, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,640,932 and 7,383,839, the latter of which also contains an oral scoop. U.S. Pat. No. 5,575,282 describes an oxygen distributor with both mouth and nose delivery ports and a whirler to provide helical flow of gas.
An alternative to nasal cannulas, which enter the patient's nostrils, are face masks. Face masks come in all shapes and sizes. Some nasal masks only cover the nose, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,651,663; 6,729,333; 6,959,710; D493,523; D502,261; 2002/0148472; 2004/0094158; and 2006/0027236, which describe a triangular nasal mask with headgear attachment.
Other masks are larger and cover both the nose and mouth of the patient. U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,168 and 2003/0047188 describe a face mask for oral and nasal delivery and gas sampling. Face masks can be held in place with elastic straps, or can be held in place with a headgear, which sometimes resembles a phone headset, and often contains arms and joints, which may be adjustable like the mask described by U.S. Pat. No. 7,089,941 and D515,697.
Because masks rest on the face, patients often complain of discomfort. Some have tried to invent masks that are more comfortable. U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,965; 2002,0100479; 20030019496; and 20060076018 describe a face mask with a rotatable elbow, and mask seal with cushion, the seal being formable and customizable to contour the face. Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,427 describes a fabric comfort ring for patient medical masks, while 2010/0018535 describes a gel cushion for a mask that forms to the face, and 2005/0051171 describes a nose breathing mask with silicone wax molded for comfort.
For caregiver access to the patient's nose and/or mouth, such as for a patient drinking through a straw or for suctioning of patient fluids, some masks contain one or more access ports or regions, including 2009/0084385; 2003/0024533; and 2008/0110463, the latter of which attaches to a nebulizer to provide aerosol therapy. U.S. Pat. No. 7,255,106 also describes an inhalation mask for use with nebulizer, but unlike 2008/0110463, it does not provide helical flow. Other face masks may contain an exhaust filter, such as described by U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,326. Other masks may be adapted to contain gas supply tubing that extends through the patient's nose and mouth for mechanical ventilation, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,270 describes a face mask for mechanical ventilation that consists of an oral tube and a nasal tube that extends into the intubated patient.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,450,166; 6,595,207; 6,631,719; 6,675,796; and 6,837,238; and U.S. Pat. App. Nos. 20040094160; 20050150498; 20060081243; and 20060081248 describe a lightweight oxygen delivery system comprising a baffle to diffuse oxygen which can be delivered to a space in the vicinity of the patient's nose and mouth, when held in position by a boom, or a face mask, but contains a number of cumbersome plastic components, and its tubing, in and of itself, does not have the ability of being securely fastened to a source of oxygen, and so may pop off under high pressure or be pulled off inadvertently, and may also be limited by delivery of only oxygen gas to the patient.
However, many of these medical gas utilizing or delivery devices are still cumbersome, uncomfortable, inconvenient, and potentially unsafe. The present invention, along with its medical gas mask preferred embodiment, provides uncompromised safety and comfort, is easier to manufacture, and can replace many of the existing face masks and cannulas with a single device, to reduce inventory and save hospitals money.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved universal medical gas delivery system which can be used for coupling any of a plurality of different medical gas sources to a medical gas tube leading to any of a plurality of different medical gas utilizing devices. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.